 Lawmakers in Springfield heard a proposal Wednesday that would let
local schools set the fees for students to take driver's education.
Schools are only allowed to charge a $50 flat fee for driver's ed.
If a school district wants to charge more, local officials have to
get permission from the Legislature. State Rep. Sandy Pihos, R-Glenn
Ellyn, said more than 100 schools have asked for and received those
waivers.
"Right now we have 155 school districts with waivers in driver's
ed that go out as far as 2016," Pihos said. "The waivers in place
currently range from $75 to $500."
Pihos said those 155 districts equal almost a third of all school
districts in Illinois that are required to teach driver's ed. Just
last year, the Legislature approved a host of new waivers including
permission for increased driver's ed charges in DeKalb, St. Charles,
Rock Island, Yorkville and El Paso as well as dozens of other
districts.
State Sen. Christine Johnson, R-DeKalb, said driver's education
costs have been a hot topic for DeKalb schools for years. She sees
the plans being talked about now as a way to let DeKalb solve its
own problems.
"I think it's good for our local school districts to go ahead and
have that control. We give them a (cost) range that they can set,"
she said. "They can pick anywhere from $50 to $250 that's
appropriate for them."
Johnson said local school boards can bump up the costs as they
see fit. One of the wrinkles in the fee proposal would require
schools to talk about new costs with parents and voters. School
boards could not order the new fee without public input.
State Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline, said allowing local
schools to set local prices should streamline the process. He said
he hopes a new fee may wake up parents to just how much money local
schools need or spend.
"I believe local schools are trying to do the right thing. I
don't think anyone is trying to run a scam on the state," said
Jacobs.
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Jacobs added that driver's ed is just another mandate from
Springfield, and he said lawmakers should try to find a solution for
those while they're at it.
Pihos said the numbers from local schools do show that the
requirement from Springfield to teach new drivers how to drive is
costing them far more than even an enhanced fee would bring in.
"Net costs to some districts after fees and reimbursements run as
high as $750 or more," she said.
Pihos said driver's ed is a tough class to teach, because it
often means one teacher and three students in a car. She said that
few if any other classes have that kind of ratio.
The fee proposal has just cleared its first hurdle in the
Illinois House. It will be months before it could moves through the
Senate before going to the governor.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By BENJAMIN YOUNT]
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